This was supposed to be a Father’s Day post but life got the best of me. In just a few days, I will move from the suburbs of New Jersey to small town Maine. In preparation, I’ve been reading Elizabeth Strout novels, which are often set in the fictional town of Crosby, Maine. Speaking of small town life, I’ve been watching and loving season two of Somebody, Somewhere (which I recommended last year when Season 1 debuted) and recently stumbled upon this great interview with Jeff Hiller, who stars as Joel. He and Sam (Bridget Everett) are pretty much my favorite thing on TV right now.
One more thing: I reviewed Showing Up for The Common. It’s streaming now if you missed it in the theaters.
That’s all for now. I’ll be back in July, writing from my new office.
R.I.P. Robert Gottlieb
Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb (2023)
Directed by Lizzie Gottlieb
1 hour 52 minutes; VOD $5.99
This charming documentary has sadly become newsworthy because of the recent death of Robert Gottlieb, an editor who worked with many of the 20th century’s great writers, including Toni Morrison, John le Carré, and Robert Caro. Gottlieb’s editorial relationship with Caro is legendary, in part because of Gottlieb’s role in shaping The Power Broker, Caro’s absurdly ambitious debut, which became an instant classic — after Gottlieb cut 400,000 words from the manuscript. (For reference, your average novel is around 80,000 words.) Caro followed up The Power Broker with a biography of Lyndon Johnson that, to date, has stretched to four volumes. Gottlieb’s daughter Lizzie filmed the men over five years, and her presence gives the documentary a light, personal touch. I watched this a few weeks ago and planned to recommend it as a good choice for Father’s Day. Now, with Gottlieb’s passing, it feels more like a tribute to a remarkable collaborator and reader. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
True Crime with Ambiguity
Saint Omer (2022)
Directed by Alice Diop
Written by Alice Diop, Amrita David, and Zoe Galeron
2 hours 2 minutes; Streaming on Hulu/VOD $3.99
Documentary filmmaker Alice Diop brings an unsettling sense of reality to her first fiction feature, which follows a novelist attending the trial of a woman accused of drowning her 15-month-old child. Based on a real-life incident of infanticide, this is a courtroom drama that leans into ambiguity and stillness. And yet it’s also very suspenseful. I found it riveting and so did many other critics; the film made it onto many “best of 2022” lists. If you missed it last year in the theaters, it’s streaming now on Hulu and well worth your time. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
Fascinating Excavation
Three Minutes: A Lengthening (2022)
Directed by Bianca Stigter
Written by Bianca Stigter and Glenn Kurtz
1 hour 9 minutes; Streaming on Hulu/VOD $3.99
This is another acclaimed film from 2022 that is now streaming on Hulu. I didn’t catch up with it until recently, when I watched it one weeknight after the kids were in bed. It’s a haunting documentary about three minutes of film footage that author Glenn Kurtz found in his father’s closet. The film, shot by his father in 1938, depicts the residents of a Jewish neighborhood in his father’s Polish hometown. It’s a lively scene that’s hard to watch because you know the Nazi occupation is coming. Yet it’s also a slice of village life, miraculously preserved. Working with a research team, Kurtz tries to find the identities of the people depicted. This is a challenge not only because of the film’s short length, but also because the images have degraded over time. There are no big revelations, instead this documentary focuses on the research process, and just how much can be gleaned from a few moments in time. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
Stunning Southern Gothic
Eve’s Bayou (1997)
Written and Directed by Kasi Lemmons
1 hour 48 minutes; Streaming on Paramount+/VOD $5.99
I saw this classic from the 90s for the first time a few weeks ago at BAM, where they were screening a director’s cut. I shouldn’t have waited so long! This movie is a banquet of storytelling with an ensemble cast that includes Samuel L. Jackson, Lynn Whitfield, Jurnee Smolett, and Lisa Nicole Carrol (you’ll recognize her from Ally McBeal and E.R. if you are of a certain age). It tells the story of the Batiste family, from the point of view of the precocious middle child, Eve (Smollett), who sees something she shouldn’t. I don’t want to give away too much, but it’s very novelistic in its plotting, narration, and foreshadowing. You really sink into the setting, a sumptuous estate on the Louisiana Bayou. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
TV CORNER
Slip, Season 1 (2023)
Created by Zoe Lister-Jones
Streaming on The Roku Channel
Zoe Lister-Jones writes, directs, and stars in this dramedy about a woman who slips into a parallel universe every time she has sex with a new partner. She discovers this in the first episode, when she cheats on her husband. It’s less a multiverse narrative and more a rumination on marriage, sex, childhood trauma, and regret. There’s also a healthy dose of Buddhist theology and psychoanalysis. These elements don’t always cohere but I loved how personal this show felt, the way it is reaching for something genuinely spiritual and transcendent. There are also excellent cliffhangers at the end of each episode. IMDB * REVIEW * TRAILER
Exciting news about this move!!